


ueda.

by xisanamii



Series: unspoken affections displayed by simple gestures. [7]
Category: Brave 10
Genre: Alternate Universe - Childhood Friends, Other, cleaning out things to organize, figured i should publish it, it's kinda yes but also not really???, so i had this in my google docs for a long time, this is the closest tag i could pick for this
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-04
Updated: 2020-05-04
Packaged: 2021-03-02 02:01:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,888
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23997181
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xisanamii/pseuds/xisanamii
Summary: isanami has a feeling she's been to ueda before.
Relationships: Isanami/Sarutobi Sasuke (Brave 10)
Series: unspoken affections displayed by simple gestures. [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1588051





	ueda.

**Author's Note:**

> i wanted to explore more of how the head priest knew yukimura -- and also, sasuke's veneration of priests and whatnot probably originated from childhood. obviously canon gives no indication that they knew each other before, so this is entirely word vomit self-indulgence.

The grass crunches softly underneath her feet. Isanami looks down, grinning as she lifts one foot to nudge lightly at the accompanying ferrets.

“Thanks for coming with me~ Tau, Rin.” 

The two chitter in response, climbing their way up her body as she laughs and sets aside her geta. 

“Let’s go play in the river!”

Being barefoot in the forest is a familiar feeling. The priestess trods over to one of the running rivers in Ueda, looking around to see if there is anyone else in the area.

“Y’know, apparently Ana bathes naked in one of the waterfalls nearby. I don’t think I could ever do that.” A wistful sigh slips past her lips as she dips a foot in the water to test the temperature. “Ana is always so confident with her body, how nice~” Nodding in satisfaction to herself, she pulls the edges of her kimono up and sits at the edge, sinking her legs into the cool water.

“Is it good? Rin, Tau?”

They dive into the river, swimming after fish or jumping up to refresh themselves. Rin comes over to her, placing a paw on Isanami’s shoulder. The priestess gives her a questioning gaze.

“What is it, Rin?” She asks, watching as the ferret kept pawing at her shoulder. Then she moves to Isanami’s chest and waist, tapping at each part once. Isanami blinks before a dawn of realization appears on her.

“Oh, are you saying it’s okay if I’m not confident with my body?” She giggles. “It’s okay! I’m… well, I’m not mad at Ana for having bigger breasts. Maybe a little jealous, but~” Isanami lightly kicks her feet. “We can all be good at different things, right? I’m confident in dancing! Oh, and beating anyone at eating contests, hehe~”

Rin nods in satisfaction, bumping her nose against Isanami’s cheeks before going off to play with Tau.

The priestess leans back on her hands, swinging her feet back and forth gently in the water. This quaint atmosphere, it truly is too familiar. Now that she thinks about it, didn’t she make her way to Ueda too easily before? She may have asked for directions, but the way her feet had ran here when she was being chased so long ago-

Perhaps, she really has been here before? And with the head priest to boot- why else would he tell her to go to Yukimura? At the time, she had been too distraught to question it.

But now, spending a few months at this place… it really felt too familiar. She would attribute it to the comfortable feeling Ueda gave her, how she’s grown to love and trust everyone here…

“I wonder if Yukimura-sama would tell me though,” she sighs. She saw no real reason why he would keep it a secret, but at the same time, her Lord works in mysterious ways. If he had known her before their ‘first’ meeting, wouldn’t he have said something? “Rokurou-san…? Or…”

How long had Sasuke been with Yukimura? Maybe he’d know!

“Rin, Tau!” Isanami calls, pulling her feet out of the water. “Do you know where Sasuke is?”

The two ferrets pause their brawl, exchanging looks before bounding over to Isanami. Tau climbs up on her shoulder while Rin runs ahead, looking back once to motion for the youth to follow. Isanami happily trots after her, ignoring the drops of water meshing uncomfortably with the grass beneath her feet.

She turns her head around, taking in the sight of the forest. This isn’t her first time in Ueda’s forest - and that doesn’t count for her suspicion that she’s been here when she was younger. She had been scared of the forest before, being chased in the darkness by hostile shinobi. However, if it’s Ueda’s forest, and if it’s the forest that Sasuke himself treasures dearly, she feels like she has seen a whole other side to that.

In the distance, she can see Sasuke kneeling over a deer and her fawn. He’s speaking softly, a smile on his face as he gently places the fawn back to the warmth of their mother.

“Sasuke,” Isanami whispers. He turns his head, blinking once in surprise. That’s… a bit strange. She would’ve thought that he sensed her coming ages ago. Perhaps when he is distracted by animals, his senses are dulled?

“Isanami.” He rises to his feet, turning to greet her.

“Are you busy?” She smiles, peering around him once to ensure she isn’t disturbing the deer. Sasuke shakes his head in response, giving her a questioning glance. “I see! I’m glad~ can we talk? I wanna ask you something.”

He nods silently, motioning for her to follow him. He leads her out of the shrubbery, into an empty clearing where Rin and Tau decided to run ahead and resume their brawl from before.

“Was that the baby deer you talked about before?” Isanami asks. The memory of asking is a strained one, seeing as during that time, she had been in a darker place. 

Sasuke nods again. “Growing… fast.”

“I’d like to meet them officially later,” she says. To make up for her refusal that month ago. Turning her head towards the sky, obscured by the canopy of the forest, she sighs. Nostalgia washes over her body and she runs ahead of Sasuke, spinning on her heel with a laugh. 

“It’s such a nice day…” Halting in her spin to face Sasuke, she takes a step towards him. Not beating around the bush, she places her hands behind her back and fidgets. “Sasuke, have I been to Ueda before?”

He tilts his head. The puzzlement on his expression is clear, so Isanami decides to elaborate. Her hands move from behind to the front of her, finding each other, twiddling with her fingers a bit nervously.

“You see, I… I think I’ve been here before. When I was a kid?” She looks towards him earnestly. “And if you’ve been with Yukimura-sama for a long time, maybe you remember that?”

“....”

_ It had been sunny that day too. _

Sasuke remembers the beginnings of his training. 

After having been taken in by Yukimura and Rokurou, that fateful day in the mountains, he decided then he would serve this strange yet kind man. Yukimura’s networking with Koga shinobi seemed to work out in his favor too.

Koga shinobi are loyal to their Lord, his instructor had said. It suited Sasuke’s personality and drive as well, so he didn’t mind the extra work.

One day, Yukimura paused Sasuke’s training to give him a mission. 

“We’re having some special visitors,” Yukimura said. “I need to take to the head priest alone, but he’s bringing a young girl with him. Sasuke, why don’t you play with her?”

Sasuke rarely interacted with humans. He frowned lightly at that. He had only been at Ueda for a couple of months -- was it really fine for him to meet new people? He didn’t have confidence in his socializing skills, plus… he was a shy boy.

“Is the young girl a priestess? Or the head priest’s child?” Sasuke’s teacher asked.

“Hmm, she’s a priestess that he took in a while back.” Yukimura stroked his chin. “But she is still a child, like I said.”

“No matter.” He shook his head and looked towards his apprentice. “Sasuke, priests and priestess’ are people to be respected,” his teacher said. “They are holy people. Make sure you treat the young miko carefully.”

That only put more pressure on him. Still, he nodded carefully. This seemed like a mission, so he should treat it like one, right?

“There’s no need for that formality.” Yukimura laughed. “She’s probably still in training, just like Sasuke.” He reached over and ruffled Sasuke’s hair. “Just be yourself, Sasuke! Socializing is good for people your age.”

He pursed his lips, nodding stiffly. He hadn’t exactly been the friendliest when he first met Yukimura, but that was because he had been abandoned by his parents and the only creatures he could trust were his animal family. 

Now, he had been slowly growing to trust Yukimura, Rokurou, and Koga shinobi. Iga shinobi were murderers… and the Fuuma were an existence about to be wiped out.

“Ne, ne~ Kannushi-sama, this is Ueda? It’s so pretty!”

A chirper voice echoed and the group turned towards the entrance. There was an adult man and a young girl bouncing about, taking in the sights with wide yet excited eyes. Sasuke immediately went to hide behind Yukimura.

“Kannushi-sama!” Yukimura laughed, beckoning the man over. 

The head priest smiled, bowing his head in return. “Yukimura-sama.” The girl at his side widened her eyes at seeing the group, tightening her grip on the head priest’s hand as he led them over.

“N-Nice to meet you!” The girl hastily bowed as well. 

“How polite~ there’s no need to be so stiff.” Yukimura crouched down, smiling to ease the girl’s nervousness. “What’s your name?”

“I’m Isanami!” She chirped, a wide smile on her face. What a nice person! 

“You can call me Yuki-chan-”

The teasing comment was broken by Rokurou, who had kicked his Lord’s ankle just slightly. Though the page remained silent throughout the exchange, Yukimura can sense the reprimanding stare. 

“Aaaand this here is Sasuke.” Nudging the boy forward, Yukimura rose up and allowed Sasuke to grip the fabric of his kimono. He would decide to ignore Rokurou’s little stunt, laughing it off. He was a generous person, after all! “He’s a little shy, but why don’t you two play together?”

Isanami didn’t seem to have a problem with it. After looking to the head priest for confirmation, she trotted over to Sasuke and offered a hand to him.

“Sasuke-chan! Do you want to play with me?” She asked.

He slowly lifted his head, finally taking her into his vision. His cheeks flushed red and he tugged on Yukimira’s clothing again. The Lord merely grinned and guided his hand to Isanami’s.

“Go ahead~ Sasuke, you can introduce her to your friends.”

The idea seemed to give the boy some boost of confidence. Isanami intertwined their fingers together excitedly.

“I wanna meet your friends too!” She agreed.

“... Okay.” Quietly, he started to lead them into the direction of the forest. Isanami waved goodbye to the others before turning back to the young boy.

“Sasuke-chan, how old are you?”

“... Ten.”

“Ooh! I’m nine! I’m only a year younger than you, hehe~” She hummed. “How long have you been with Yukimura-sama?”

“Only… a few months.” He mumbled.

“He seems like a nice person. Kannushi-sama praised him a lot, so I was excited to meet him. I didn’t think Yukimura-sama would have kids though! This is exciting.” Isanami added more steps to her stride, keeping in pace with Sasuke.

“Mhn.”

She tilted her head. Sasuke really was a person of few words, huh? Well, Yukimura did say he was shy! Isanami wondered how she could make Sasuke more comfortable around her.

“... My friends,” Sasuke said abruptly. Isanami blinked, looking around before finally, from the shadows came wolves and deer.

She gasped, hastily bowing down to them as well. “Nice to meet you! I’m Isanami!” She giggled. “I’ve never met friends like these! You’re so lucky, Sasuke-chan~”

He blushed. “... You can touch.”

Isanami plopped down on the ground, cautiously threading her fingers through the wolf’s fur. “So soft…”

“Isanami, not scared?”

“Nah~ they’re your friends, Sasuke-chan, and you’re not scary! So they aren’t scary!” She wrapped her arms around the wolf’s neck gently, nuzzling her face into them. “Ahh, so warm too~”

He seemed to relax at that. “Isanami, staying… how long?” 

“Hmm~” She let out a hum of contemplation. “I think we’re staying the night? So we have a lot of time to play! What do your friends wanna play?”

“Don’t know… games,” he replied. Biting his lip in shame, his look of excitement faltered. “Sorry… first time.”

“It’s okay!” She released the wolf’s neck, reaching over and earnestly grabbing both of Sasuke’s hands. “It’s my first time too! We don’t play a lot at the shrine, but I’ve read books about games. Er, well, more like my nee-sans would read to me about games, but I can teach you all the games I know, ne~”

He gave a sheepish smile. “Thank you.”

“Hehe~” She looked around. “What’s really fun is kemari! We play this one a lot actually. Basically, we have to keep a ball in the air without using our hands or arms! I’m good with my legs but it’s hard for me sometimes~”

“Ball…” He looked towards the wolves. On cue, one of them bound for a clearing and returned with a ball made of grains and fabric. “Good?”

“I think it’ll work~” Isanami gave a bow of thanks to the wolf. “Here, I’ll start, but we basically take turns trying to keep it in the air!”

“Okay.”

“Yosh, here I go!” Throwing it high above her head, she waited for it to near the ground before kicking it up with her feet.

However, what she didn’t expect was for Sasuke to suddenly jump in the air and kick the ball straight down towards her. Landing harshly on the ground next to her, she looked towards Sasuke with awe.

“Uwah, Sasuke-chan, how did you do that?”

“I… am shinobi.” He looked nervous. “Is that… okay?”

“That’s so cool!” She cheered. “Alright, I won’t lose to you though! Here I go again! I’ll serve to Ookami-chan this time~”

\--

“Oh, the sun is already setting…” Collapsed on the grass, chest heaving with exhaustion, Isanami let out a laugh as she stared at the canopies. “Ahh, Sasuke-chan, you’re so cool! I didn’t even win once!”

“... Isanami, did her best.” Sasuke muttered, laying down on the grass next to her. “Backflips, well done.”

“Aww, thanks~” She turned her head towards him, grinning. “Should we head back now! I think it’s dinnertime soon~”

“Mhn.” He rose up, offering a hand towards the girl. She took it and pulled herself up, using the momentum to leap and press a kiss to his nose.

Sasuke yelped, a blush rose on his cheeks as his hand went to cover his nose.

“It’s your punishment for beating me.” She stuck her tongue out.

“...” That wasn’t really a punishment, in his opinion. Watching as she reached forward and took his hand, laughing innocently, he could only allow his heartbeat to hasten as she dragged him in the direction of Ueda’s castle.

“Dinner, dinner~”

Well, at least she knew where they were going. She was probably following the smell of food.

“Ooh, Sasuke, Isanami~”

Yukimura and the head priest were there to greet them.

“Did you two have fun?” The head priest asked.

Isanami nodded excitedly. “We did! Sasuke-chan is really good at kemari! He said he’s a shinobi. Can I be one too?”

“Maybe one day,” the head priest laughed. “I hope she wasn’t too much trouble, Sasuke.”

He shook his head quietly. “... I enjoyed.”

“I’m not trouble! Sometimes!”

“Mah, enough of that.” Yukimura laughed boisterously, ruffling both their heads. “I hope you’re hungry, because it’s a feast tonight!”

“Yay~ food~ food~”

Eating with people… was a strange feeling. Sasuke didn’t know if he could get used to it, eating in a room full of humans and inside, but it was not a bad feeling. Especially watching Isanami’s cheerful energy, it was quite contagious.

Near the end of the meal, Sasuke excused himself. He went inside the forest to find some pretty flowers, thinking that he should get her a nice gift before she had to leave as well. The moon shone brightly above his head, illuminating a set of flowers that matched her hair.

Nodding to himself in satisfaction, he leapt through the trees, excited to meet with her again. However, once he met up with Yukimura and the head priest, their expressions were grave.

“Isanami didn’t meet with you?” The head priest asked when Sasuke returned.

He shook his head, wondering why he looked so concerned.

“Isanami is scared of the dark.” The head priest began pacing. “Where could she have gone?”

Sasuke’s stomach dropped. “Where?”

“She wanted to go look for you,” the head priest muttered. “No, she can’t have gotten far.”

“Don’t worry. I… go find.” Sasuke immediately left, clutching the flower in his hand like a lifeline. Yukimura held the head priest back in assurance.

“Sasuke is growing to be a fine shinobi. He will find her.”

“She’s never done anything like this,” the head priest insisted. “She hates the dark, but she went to go after him once she discovered he wasn’t here. It’s too soon for the elements to-”

“Fate works in weird faces,” Yukimura laughed. “Is she not going to be the Darkness? Getting attached to the Grass that will share part of the responsibility for the fate of the world is not a bad thing.”

It did not take long before Sasuke heard the sound of whimpering. Breathing a sigh of relief at the familiar head of celeste-colored hair, he landed softly next to her.

“Isa-”

“Sasuke!”

Dropping the honorific, she cried and ran into him, wrapping her arms around him tightly. He could feel her small body trembling. His heart clenched but he did not know what to do.

“I’m glad I found you!” She whined, as if she weren’t the one who was lost in the first place.

“Isanami…” He bit his lip. “Why did you… come out here?”

“I-” She gulped. “I was worried…”

“The dark, you dislike?”

“It’s okay!” She insisted, pulling back to stare up at him with golden hues brimmed with unshed tears. “I wanted to look for you!”

“I’m… sorry-”

“No, I won’t take your apology. I just-- “ she shook her head. “I just didn’t want you to leave.”

“Wasn’t leaving,” he murmured. “Flower… for you.”

He offered the bloom to her. She blinked owlishly at him before letting out a cheerful giggle.

“Thank you, Sasuke.” She accepted it, nestling it in her hair with the Kushimitama. “How do I look?”

“... Cute…”

“Ah-”

She blushed, but before she could utter her thanks, Sasuke suddenly dropped his smile and gently nudged her behind him.

“Who?”

“Brat, your senses aren’t as dull as I thought they’d be.”

Even in the shadows of the night, the moon illuminated the two tall figures. Sasuke narrowed his eyes, reaching into his sleeve to pull out his kunai.

“Intruders. Leave.”

“Sasuke…” Isanami whispered, clutching the back of his kimono.

“This kid really thinks he can take us on.”

“How cute.”

The condescending tones sent a shiver down the two children’s spines.

“... Isanami, run. I distract.”

“Eh?” Her eyes widened. “I can’t leave you behind!”

“She really can’t,” one of the adults mused. “After all, she’s the one we want.”

Sasuke’s defensive posture tightened and he struck to attack, but before he could do that, the other adult shinobi had made it behind the child and kicked him to the ground.

“Little boys shouldn’t be trying to play hero.”

“Sasuke!”

Isanami ran towards him but was immediately held up in the air by the other shinobi. 

“You-” Sasuke moved to lunge at him but was stopped by the kunai being driven into his arm.

“No! Sasuke!” Isanami screeched, kicking her feet around in protest. “Let Sasuke go! It’s me you want, right?”

“Shinobi lives work like this, little miko.” The ninja sneered. “If you’re worthless, you deserve to die.”

Sasuke refused to let out a noise, but if only briefly, a glance of desperation was given to Isanami.

_ No… _

“NO!” Isanami screamed, Kushimitama glowing black as darkness erupted and enveloped the two shinobi. Sasuke dropped to the ground immediately, holding his wound as he watched the two men disappear…

… As if they had never existed in the first place.

However, he scarcely had time to process that. He raced towards Isanami, catching her unconscious form as she fell forward.

“Isanami…”

The night was silent, Sasuke’s voice filled with regret and concern. She was breathing though, that was good.

“Kannushi-sama…”

“I know. It’s… getting worse as she gets older.”

Sasuke watched his Lord and the head priest appeared only a few seconds later.

“Yukimura-sama, I-” Sasuke began. However, his Lord held a hand up, and the head priest stepped forward.

“Sasuke, thank you for doing your best to protect Isanami.” The head priest gave a gentle smile.

“No, I… I could not.”

“You’re young and you were brave.” The head priest gave an affectionate pat on the head to Sasuke. Kneeling down, he silently motioned for Sasuke to hand Isanami over.

Sasuke’s eyes filled with tears, shame at himself but grateful for the priest’s reassurance. Gently placing the girl in his arms, he took a step back.

“However, Sasuke, what I will tell you next may… be painful.” The head priest paused. “We will return to Izumo now. But Isanami will not remember anything about Ueda or what happened here.”

Sasuke’s eyes widened. 

“You see, you know that strange power? It… gives her amnesia.” The head priest sighed. “Or perhaps it’s a defense mechanism, to try and forget what scared her. However, know that this doesn’t mean she hates you.”

Yukimura moved forward, placing a hand on Sasuke’s head. “It can’t be helped. But Sasuke… we’ll definitely meet her again in the future. And perhaps at that time, you can return the favor to her too.”

The boy let his tears fall, sniffling and rubbing at his face with his sleeve.

“She really… does not hate me? For being weak?”

“Isanami could never hate you,” Yukimura scolded. “And as for being weak, you must overcome your weaknesses. Become stronger so next time, you can protect her too.”

The head priest smiled. “Isanami rarely gets to play with children her age. I’ve never seen her so happy before. Thank you for allowing her to keep her smile, Sasuke.”

He looked wistful, keeping his head down. Then he nodded, bowing his head towards the head priest.

“The next time you come… I will be stronger.”

The head priest smiled. Then, nodding to Yukimura, he cradled the young girl in his arms and left the forest.

Yukimura sighed, turning to Sasuke.

“Sasuke… the next time she comes, we cannot speak of what happened here. It’s best for you to forget what happened.”

Sasuke frowned.

“... Is that an order?”

Yukimura paused, looking surprised before giving a hearty laugh.

_ “Well. not really. If you want to hang onto your feelings, that’s fine too. Just keep what happened here a secret, alright?” He tilted his head in contemplation. “And when we meet again… I hope you’ll get along just fine as well.” _

“Sasuke?”

The Koga shinobi snaps from his musings, looking towards the young priestess still awaiting an answer.

“... No.”

It hurt to lie. But it was Yukimura’s order to keep that event in the past. And now that they all knew it was the power of Izanami sealed by the hairpin, Sasuke did not wish to distress the young girl.

“Ah…” Isanami’s face falls in disappointment. “Well, that’s okay! I’m glad I’m here with you now!”

Sasuke smiles softly. “I, as well.”

A hand goes to brush her bangs out of her face. Isanami then blinks at the small weight in her hair as Sasuke withdraws his hand.

It’s a blue flower, she notes by the reflection in his eyes.

“Ooh, that’s pretty~ thank you!”

“Mhn.”


End file.
